Joanna Shields, Founder, Executive Director, Board Member

Joanna Shields and her husband live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They are the parents of four children and have one grandchild. Joanna co-founded Mother to Mother mentoring organization, served as a leader for a small group women’s ministry, provides tutoring to children through Kids Hope, and continues to be active in local community organizations. Prior to her full-time commitment to Jericho, Joanna was a sales director for an international cosmetic corporation. She makes bi-annual trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina and stays in touch with her “Bosnian family” via skype when back in the US.

Bill Traywick, Vice-President

Bill Traywick, Jericho President, resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His focus on the Board has been in strategic planning and establishing the Foundation Endowment. His professional experience in sales management includes a 32-year career with Proctor and Gamble and the Kellogg Company. He also has extensive volunteer experience with Kentwood Public Schools. Bill is involved with Jericho because he believes we are making a difference by helping young people achieve a college education. These young people will become the future leaders of this recovering war-torn country.

Larry Lutz, Vice-President

Larry Lutz resides in Portage, Michigan, with his wife Tricia and three teenage children. He is the owner of the medical business Lutz Enterprises and has been employed for 20 years as a nurse anesthetist. Larry has a passion for children and is involved with local youth through musical mentoring and sports coaching. He grows spiritually by being a part of the Southridge Christian Church, and he is a member of the worship band. Larry is interested in the Jericho Foundation because of his compassion for children, his desire to promote spiritual growth in children, and his determination to better the lives of people in need.

Jodi Drews-Secretary

Jodi Drews has been a board member for three years and currently serves as the Board Secretary. She attained a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and is a substitute teacher in the Portage Public School system. Jodi serves in leadership with the middle school and high school ministry at her church. Jodi, a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has three young children. She is motivated to serve the Jericho Foundation by her love for children and her desire to make a difference in the lives of children that have experienced tremendous loss and have incredible hardships to overcome.

Jennifer Colatruglio, Education Coordinator

Jennifer Colatruglio resides in Portage, Michigan, with her husband and three children. She recently took on the position of Education Coordinator which includes promoting, administrating, and monitoring the Jericho Education Program. Jennifer earned a B.S. in Business Administration at Western Michigan University. She has been involved in leadership roles with women ministries at her church and with the Kalamazoo Junior League. She has been a member of Jericho’s Project Hope Team traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2009 and 2011. After returning from BiH, she was motivated to contribute to the Jericho mission to restore HOPE to children in Bosnia and, subsequently, joined the Board.

Cathy Cole

Cathy Cole has diligently served on the board for four years and has traveled to BiH twice. She has dedicated hundreds of hours to our successful annual fundraising auction. She and her husband live in Portage, Michigan, and they have two adult children. Cathy is currently a director with Creative Memories, Inc. She has widespread volunteer experience in her church and community particularly with children. Cathy feels passionate about the nurturing and well-being of children and values the opportunity to serve on the Jericho Board.

Paul Knight

Paul Knight leads the marketing and communications divisions of the Foundation. He and his wife, Charleen, reside in Portage, Michigan, with their three children. Paul is the director of global hot water markets for Armstrong International in Three Rivers, Michigan. Paul has extensive volunteer experience leading soccer clubs, Boy Scout troops and church youth groups. He believes that the key to stabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economic infrastructure lies with educating its youth. Jericho’s first college graduate, the 9-year-old girl Joanna befriended in 1996, is a shining example. Paul knows that this simple reason is enough to inspire anyone to invest a little personal resource in the Jericho Foundation.

AJ Shields

AJ Shields lives in Mattawan, Michigan, with his wife and daughter. AJ is pursuing a career in HVAC and is working towards obtaining his Journeyman’s Card. His love of children is evidenced by many years of volunteering as a youth soccer coach. AJ traveled to BiH for the first time in 2010 with the Project HOPE team. When he returned to the U.S., AJ decided to invest in the leadership of Jericho and joined our board. For several years, AJ has been actively involved with our annual fundraising auction. During his youth, AJ’s family regularly hosted Bosnian students for extended stays and he considers all of them “my brothers and sisters”.

Cathy Shinabarger

Cathy Shinabarger and her family reside in Portage, Michigan. She earned a B.A. and an M.S. in microbiology. Cathy has been employed for over two decades in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in the aseptic manufacture of pharmaceutical products. She has two sons and has served Christian churches in various capacities. Cathy takes a special interest in the Jericho Foundation health and prosthetics division. Her inspiration for helping the Jericho Foundation is to aid in a simple goal of helping others succeed.

Advisory Board

Karen Allison, Operations Director

A recent addition to the Jericho Foundation, Karen Allison has come on board as the director of operations. She completed college degrees in business management and pre-law. Karen has a variety of professional experience including marketing for a magazine, substitute teaching, administrative assisting for an engineering firm, working as a paralegal, and co-founding a private tutoring business. Karen and her husband are the parents of four children and six grandchildren. She believes that Jericho is impacting the young people of BiH through personal relationships and encouraging education and desires to be part of a team to restore hope.

Dawn Moorman

Dawn Moorman lives in Portage, Michigan with her husband and three children. Dawn enjoys volunteering in her community and has served on the Jericho advisory board for many years. She has traveled to Africa to minister to AIDS victims and to Bosnia and Herzegovina three times with the Jericho Foundation. She believes that God’s love is spoken in every language, and it is her mission to share God’s love. Through her missionary work Dawn has formed relationships that will last a lifetime.